Going Global， Chinese Enterprises Enjoy More Opportunities than Ever Before

written by Lin Han / translated by Ma Jinyu

Going Global， Chinese Enterprises Enjoy More Opportunities than Ever Before

written by Lin Han / translated by Ma Jinyu

The advancing Maritime Silk Road construction， the proposed $40 billion Silk Road fund as well as the approaching of the establishment of AIIB brought important opportunities to BOCT.

Mr. Zhang Lei， President of Bank of China（Thai） Public Company Limited

Located in the center of ASEAN region， Thailand becomes ASEAN’s crossroad both on land and at sea. With unique advantages， Thailand is reinforcing its infrastructure construction and pushing forward the layout of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road building. On such an occasion， how will Chinese enterprises make their arrangement？As a paragon of cooperation between Chinese and Thai commercial banks，how shall the Bank of China （Thai） Public Company Limited serve the enterprises？With these questions in mind， the reporter from China-ASEAN Panorama interviewed Mr. Zhang Lei， President of Bank of China （Thai） Public Company Limited in Thailand.

Pave the Way for Chinese Enterprises Investing in Thailand

Mr. Zhang Lei introduced during the interview on July 16， 2015 that，Thailand， with the purpose of bridging ASEAN connectivity， has formulated and implemented a series of policies aimed at promoting infrastructure，which showed that Thai government has a unified understanding of the importance of infrastructure construction and actively made preparations and eff orts for it.

The boosting of infrastructure construction off ers enterprises great business opportunities， which will attract numerous enterprises to invest in Thailand. Mr. Zhang Lei said， “Plenty of Chinese enterprises have the ability to ‘go global’ in such fi elds as infrastructure construction， equipment manufacturing and technical service. In the context of building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， Chinese enterprises have more opportunities than ever before.”

It is necessary for those Chinese enterprises to have sharp eyes on current situation and get enough courage to grasp opportunities and act fast in Thailand. Furthermore， the support of financial services is also in need toensure that Chinese enterprises are well on their way to “go global”. With regards to this， Mr. Zhang Lei claimed， Bank of China（Thai） Public Company Limited （hereinafter referred to as BOCT） stands ready to provide financial services and supports for connectivity-oriented infrastructure projects and enterprises in ASEAN region，thus to pave the way for the successful implementation of ASEAN economic integration.

With regard to how does BOCT supply infrastructure projects and enterprises with all-process and all life-cycle financial services， Mr. Zhang Lei briefed， BOCT brought its Chinese and Thai clients together and served as a bridge between enterprises of China and Thailand at the very start. When conducting due diligence， BOCT could provide investors with consulting services related to laws，market， taxation and policy and so on. It could also offer clients letter of tender，performance guaranty， advance payment guarantee and credit guarantees， thus to bring convenience to enterprises when they do biding. Assistance such as project financing and syndicated loans could be provided by BOCT as well to facilitate the successful completion of the project when construction begins.

What does BOCT do for Chinese and Thai enterprises is far more than this. The followup service for the project is also involved. BOCT will help enterprises become bigger and stronger when they grow， so as to maximize the value of customers.

Well Develop Finance and Provide Service in Proper Ways

The AIIB and $40 billion Silk Road fund were born in response to the implementation of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and will grow up to improve infrastructure in Asian countries and achieve mutual benefits. Mr. Zhang Lei denoted， “These two financial organizations resonate with BOCT， who proposed a strategy to forge ‘financial arteries’ in Thailand and ASEAN region. The relationship between the Bank of China and these two are cooperative and complementary. They will also share opportunities.

Under this circumstance， only through cooperation as the times require can the interested parties work together and achieve mutual benefi ts. The advancing Maritime Silk Road construction， the proposed $40 billion Silk Road fund as well as the approaching of the establishment of AIIB brought important opportunities to BOCT. How will it seize opportunities to realize a new round of development？ Mr. Zhang Lei provided an introduction， “In terms of project cooperation， BOCT could make joint research with connectivityoriented projects on financing plan for enterprises， to boost funding for projects and prevent completion risk. As for being an agency partner， AIIB and Silk Road fund have insufficient network points compared to commercial banks. On the basis of ‘Belt and Road’ initiative and the economic characteristics of Thailand， BOCT is making arrangement for its second-level branches. In the next three years， 15 branches are going to be established by BOCT as planned，which will expand coverage to the whole Thailand. Hence， BOCT and its affi liated institutions could support and assist AIIB and Silk Road fund in terms of funds trusteeship and service agent， thus to strength the implementation effect of their credit schemes.”

“In addition， being rooted in Thailand for 21 years， BOCT has cultivated a large number of professional talents in such fields as market， policy， laws，foreign exchange and taxation， making itself be equipped with significant capabilities in consulting service.”According to Mr. Zhang Lei， the strengthening of joint research will help foreign financial organizations get an insight into Thailand’s market， policies and information， which is conducive to conducting their due diligence and enhancing risk management and control.

Against the background of “Belt and Road” initiative， infrastructure construction will help capital flow to regions along the Belt and Road via trade and investment. Service-oriented fi nancial institutions thereby play a very important role in it. BOCT， who stays fi rmly in the present while looking ahead to the future， is making its contributions to Maritime Silk Road construction as well as China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation and exchanges.